Following are sample content standards from a draft of voluntary national standards in economics. Along with the content standards for grades 4 and 12 are excerpts of benchmarks for each grade.
| GRADE 4 | |
| Content Standard | |
| Students will understand that: | Students will be able to use this knowledge to: |
| More goods and services can be produced to raise future standards of living through investment in factories, machinery, new technology, and in the health, education, and training of people. | Predict the consequences of investment decisions made by individuals, businesses, and governments. |
| Benchmarks | |
| At the completion of grade 4, students will know that: | At the completion of grade 4, students will use this knowledge to: |
| When workers learn and practice new skills, they are improving their human capital. | Explain why professional athletes often have training equipment in their homes. |
| GRADE 12 | |
| Content Standard | |
| Students will understand that: | Students will be able to use this knowledge to: |
| Costs of some government policies may sometimes exceed benefits because of incentives facing voters, government officials, and government employees, and because of actions by special-interest groups that can impose costs on the general public. | Identify some public policies that may cost more than the benefits they generate, and who enjoys the benefits and who bears the costs. |
| Benchmarks | |
| At the completion of grade 12, students will know that: | At the completion of grade 12, students will use this knowledge to: |
| Citizens, government employees, and elected officials do not always directly bear the costs of their political decisions. This often leads to policies whose costs outweigh their benefits. | Predict the costs that would be imposed on the public if federal taxes were reduced by Congress and explain how political goals conflict with economic gain. |
SOURCE: National Council on Economic Education.
